U.S. top court takes up challenge to Colorado sales tax law

WASHINGTON, July 1 The U.S. Supreme Court on
Tuesday agreed to weigh a challenge to a Colorado law that
requires out-of-state retailers to provide data on sales they
make to customers in the state in an effort to encourage the
payment of sales tax.

The court agreed to hear an appeal by the Direct Marketing
Association, which is challenging an appeals court determination
that federal courts did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held in an August
2013 ruling that the direct marketing trade group could not sue
under the federal Tax Injunction Act, which limits challenges to
state taxes to state courts.

The 2010 law was enacted to encourage residents to pay the
2.9 percent sales tax on purchases they make out-of-state,
including from online retailers. Companies operating within the
state collect the sales tax themselves but out-of-state
companies are not required to do so. The law requires them to
notify consumers that they are required to pay the tax.

The association challenged the law on the grounds that it
violated the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, which
prohibits undue burdens on interstate commerce.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday also agreed to hear another tax
case. It will weigh an appeal filed by the Alabama Department of
Revenue in a case involving CSX Transportation Inc.

The state is challenging a July 2013 ruling by the 11th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals, which said a state tax on fuel
purchased in the state is discriminatory because rail carriers
like CSX have to pay it but companies that transport freight via
water and road do not have to.

(Adds comments, details)
By Silvio Cascione and Rodrigo Viga Gaier
BRASILIA/RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 9 Brazil's
inflation rate eased much more than expected in November,
putting a long-missed official target within reach this year and
clearing the path for a more aggressive cycle of interest rate
cuts by the central bank.
Consumer prices as measured by the benchmark IPCA index rose
6.99 percent in the 12 months through November, down from an
increase of 7.87 percent in the

HELSINKI, Dec 9 Greece's plan for a one-off
payout to pensioners before Christmas has not been consulted
with the country's lenders and raises questions if Athens can
return to markets before the end of the bailout, the head of the
euro zone bailout fund ESM said.

Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: